In a post‑game press conference following the Golden State Warriors’ loss to the Phoenix Suns, head coach Steve Kerr congratulated the Suns and praised coach Monty Waters (referred to as Jordan Ott) for navigating a difficult season. Kerr reflected on a year marked by extensive injuries to key players—most notably Jimmy Butler’s ACL tear and Moses Mo Brown’s setback—highlighting how those setbacks derailed the team’s aspirations. He spoke about the emotional weight of the season’s end, describing the locker‑room as a family and noting the surreal sense of finality after a long grind. Kerr addressed questions about his own future, explaining that he will take a short break before meeting with owners Joe Lacob and Mike Brown to discuss his role, emphasizing that any decision will be collaborative and that he remains grateful for the opportunity to coach the franchise and Steph Curry. He offered an assessment of Curry’s current abilities, acknowledging his age (39 next season) and the increasing difficulty of staying healthy, while affirming that Curry still possesses elite skill. Kerr also evaluated the development of role players such as Gui Santos, Brandon Budjemek, Jonathan Mills, and Kristaps Porziņģis, noting bright spots despite the overall disappointing season. Finally, he praised veteran Draymond Green’s competitive fire and leadership, acknowledging his importance in a year when many veterans were unavailable. Throughout, Kerr balanced respect for the opponent, candid self‑assessment, and a measured outlook on the Warriors’ next steps.
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Before I take any questions, I just want to say congrats to the Phoenix Suns.
They have had a great year.
Jordan Ott has done a phenomenal job as a young coach who took over a really difficult situation. And, man, those guys competed all year long and they've earned this. And they earned it tonight.
A lot of guys Played really, really well.
They played hard, just like they did all season. And, and so congrats to them. And I just want to say thanks to my team, to our guys. This was as tough a season as you can have with the injuries, with all kinds of adversity.
And they battled, and they battled the entire season.
They kept going the other night just to, you know, continue. season to show that kind of fight. And then tonight we just didn't have it, but the competitive desire was there. And I'm proud of the group for, for finishing the season the right way by continuing to fight and trying to win every game.
Steph had a really tough shooting night. Other guys definitely didn't seem like they were at maybe full energy. I know you don't want to use it as an excuse, but do you just think maybe the tank was emptied after Wednesday? Maybe the legs just weren't there? enough for this game?
Well, you know, it's— you really have to give the credit to Phoenix. I mean, they punched us early, you know, 33-15 in the first quarter, and aggressive defense forcing a lot of turnovers. And so we didn't have it, but that had more to do with Phoenix and their effort than anything else.
Steve, towards the— over here. Towards the end of the game, you and Draymond and Steph kind of get Did a group hug. What was that moment like? And what was, what was, what message was shared in that huddle?
None of your business.
All right.
Your future is about to become a major topic. How do you, like, what's kind of your plan in the next—
My plan is to take a little time and, you know, I don't know, take a week or two and eventually sit down and talk with Joe and Mike. We've always had a great partnership and collaboration and Just see where they are, and I'll tell them where I am, and we'll talk about what's next for the Warriors, what the plan is this offseason, and we will come to a collaborative decision on, on what's next. I don't know what's going to happen. I still love coaching, but I get it. These jobs all have an expiration date. There's a run that happens, and When the run ends, sometimes it's time for new blood and new ideas and all that. And if that's the case, then I will be just nothing but grateful for the most amazing opportunity any person could have to coach this franchise in front of our fans in the Bay and to coach Steph Curry and coach Dray and the whole group. So it might, it may Still go on.
It may not.
I don't know at this point, but we all need to step away a little bit and then reconvene.
What's the emotion right now after a season full of these ups and downs and all the injuries?
Like, what's the emotion in the locker room?
It's always, there's just a sense of finality that is surreal. You know, you, you just go through a 7, 8 months grind, game after game, traveling, You're with all these people who you love and, and it's so emotional, you know, to go through an entire season. So much happens and we have so many people in there besides the players who, you know, support staff. We're, we're like family. We really are. And so the season ends and it's like just bizarre. It's just—
Yeah.
All of a sudden your entire existence changes and you're not, convening every day. You're not fighting together. You're not trying to, you know, climb to the top of the mountain.
And it's part of the beauty of sports and a season.
You know, one season is its own journey and then all of a sudden it's over. And strange feeling, but very, as I said, very, very grateful to these guys this year. for all they've been through, the way they continued to compete and play together, it was special to watch.
In your week or two of reflecting after the season, as it pertains to your future, what do you think are some of the factors that you'll be considering in terms of whether you still want to do this?
Yeah, I mean, I appreciate the question, but that's really private. I mean, you know, I think what I said, is really everything you need to know. Joe and Mike and I will talk and we'll see where everybody is. If it's right, it's right. And if it's not, it's not. And there will be details within that that will, you know, help us reach a collective decision. And we just have to have those conversations.
Steve, how would you sum up this season as a whole?
You got one, use the mic. What's that?
How would you sum up this season for you as a whole?
I enjoyed it. I mean, believe it or not, because I love coaching and I love being with all the staff and the players, and I love being in the fight. I love having a quest and having, you know, the daily ritual of Trying to figure something out. It's really beautiful. It's really fun to be part of that. And so despite the injuries, despite the adversity, despite the struggles, I still enjoyed it. I enjoyed every day, but things didn't go our way, obviously. And that's, that's part of it too. Some, some years go your way, some years don't. This year didn't.
Coach, just asking, right here in front. The Suns had a lot of 4th quarter collapses the past couple of games, just like they did in the play-in. For this in particular game, they actually came through. What was so difficult in the 4th quarter to actually guard?
Well, they controlled the game. You know, they played small quite a bit and spread us out. I mean, they got 49 3-point shots up. And, you know, coming into the game, our keys were, Keeping them off the free-throw line, keeping them off the 3-point line, forcing mid-range shots. And we couldn't do that. And some of that was our turnovers. They got 3s in transition. Some of it, they hit tough shots. I mean, Jalen Green's 3 at the end of the first half to push it from 2 to 5 was a really difficult shot. But they made 18 3s. We knew coming in we had to keep them off the 3-point line, and we couldn't.
And—
They did a great job. Jordan did a great job putting them in positions to spread us out and play small and forcing turnovers. And so they're, you know, their, their plan was a really good one and they, they pounced.
Steve, you said maybe this run is over, maybe it's not. Maybe you're specifically talking about yourself with this team. Steph Curry's run, Steve, after what he's showed this season, what do you think is in the future with Steph Curry at this level?
Steph's still got it. I mean, you watched the other night. I mean, he can still do it, but it just gets more difficult as you get older, obviously. He plays a different game than a lot of other older players or more experienced players around the league, whether it's, you know, Kevin Durant or LeBron. It's very different. Steph's flying off screens. He travels further distance than anybody in the league year after year. And so obviously the injury at the end of the season was difficult for him to deal with. He did an amazing job of just getting back to this point. And, you know, that game the other night will go down as one of my favorite games we've ever played. And I don't care what anybody says, you know, play-in game, whatever, does not matter. It's just showing— What's the difference? Showing what he was made of, showing, you know, Draymond showing what he's made of. That matters. You know, it just matters. And it's, um, so Steph's still got it. It's just harder for him to be healthy and out there game after game. He's going to be 39 next year. This is just, you know, how it works.
I'll ask you, this might fall in the category he mentioned before, but people around the league have just said, how could any coach walk away from Steph Curry playing like this? How could you even contemplate? Is that How can you?
I mean, that's really, um, yeah, it's part of the equation, right? I mean, I don't want to walk away from Steph. I'm not— I'm definitely not going and coaching somewhere else next year, um, you know, in the NBA. I mean, I'm just, uh, just, you know, I would never walk away from Steph, but all this stuff has to be aligned and right and So those are all discussions that we'll have. That's what I said from the beginning of the season. I felt great coming into this year. I thought we had a real chance. You know, with Jimmy and Moses going down, obviously it took us off track, but we have to account for all of that stuff. And, you know, this is just a phenomenal organization. And Joe is a great owner. Mike is—
Great coach.
Wonderful GM, and I'm lucky to work with them. And like I said, we'll all put our heads together next couple of weeks.
You've seen a lot of this roster, the injuries allowed you to play a lot of guys, a lot of lineups. Do you feel like you know enough about what you have to proceed forward, assuming you're the coach? Do you know, like, what these guys are and what they can give you?
Yeah.
How do you figure that?
Well, there's a silver lining, you know, when you have a year like this. I think Guy Santos really established himself as a, as a player who's going to be in this league for the next 10 years. And I think Brandon Budjemske took huge strides. We don't know what's going to happen with the free agents, with Melt and Kristaps, but could not be happier for Melt to come off of 2 years of being out and injured and then to have the season he had. So great to see him healthy and You know, getting his career back on track. And Kristaps was fantastic. He changed our team, just the dynamic of having that floor spacing and shot blocking.
And tough night for him tonight.
His ankle was really bothering him. And the small— fact that the game was really small and fast hurt him. So, but yeah, I know, I know a lot about these guys and I'm— What about the bench? I think that's, you know, one of the bright spots, if there is one, you know, from the season is just seeing individual guys advance their careers.
As you look back at the season, do you think like the Butler ACL tear is just—
Jimmy's injury just changed everything. You know, I felt like we didn't find it early in the season. We were blowing some games that We should have closed out. I could have done a better job. But when Jimmy got hurt, it felt like we were finding it.
And so I think that injury just derailed us.
When you look at the rest of the West, you look at the league, teams are loaded. There's so much talent and so much skill. And to lose one of the best players in the game in Jimmy— Who's the best player in the league? it can't do anything but, you know, take you off course. And then, you know, Moses, he's developed so well and he's such a great young guy. And it was heartbreaking to see him go down. So 2 injuries that not only affect this year, but next year, it's— that's pretty rough.
Steve, for a lot of this season, Draymond was the only veteran who was healthy and was out there consistently. What did you learn about him this year? And just what do you make of not just this season, but his future going forward?
He will always be Draymond, you know. I mean, I love him to death. The competitive fire, he just, you know, he can't help himself but to just compete and compete and compete. And sometimes he loses his cool, and sometimes we've, you know, yelled at each other and gotten into it. But love him to death.
He's a gamer.
He's a competitor. And he gave us You know, a lot of games and a lot of minutes in a season when we needed them because we had so many of our key guys out. And I'm proud of him for, you know, taking it all the way to the finish line and continuing to compete night after night.
Steve, as you— over here— as you consider your future, how much— how many lessons— what lessons, or how are you informed by, you know, your journey? I mean, you were part of the Bulls and part of the Spurs that had these long runs and You know, as you've said, they never end easily.
Yeah.
But I mean, what have you learned from your previous experiences that sort of apply in this as you figure it out?
The only thing I've learned is that I'm the luckiest guy in the NBA's history. I mean, I've played with Jordan and Pippen and Duncan and David Robinson and, you know, played for Phil Jackson and Pop and Lenny Wilkens and Lute Olsen. And so Yeah, I've been incredibly blessed. Then to come here and inherit this team and Coach Steph Curry, who is undoubtedly the greatest face of a franchise that I've ever seen in any sport. He just lets me coach him and he wants to be coached. And he's just an incredible partner and collaborator.
And so the only thing I've learned is that I'm Steve, you came into this year feeling like you had a good shot. You said you thought it went pretty well. I don't know if you're familiar with this, like, idea of a last dance, but if somehow everything comes back, do you feel like you'll feel the same? Like, if you have this roster and you— will you feel like you got a good shot next year if everything is kind of status quo?
Well, that's— I think that's part of the discussions the next couple of weeks is figuring out what the plan is.
And that's Mike and Joe's job.
So, you know, every year is different and it's, you just, you have to look at it. And I mean, there was a reason I decided I, you know, I just wanted to wait and see how things played out. And that's what I did. And that's what we're doing. So we'll talk about all that stuff next couple of weeks.
